Marc Davis’ 1995 MIT Media Laboratory doctoral dissertation was called “Media Streams” and is an iconic visual language and system for media annotation, retrieval, and resequencing according to semantic descriptions of media content using manual, semi-automatic, and automatic techniques. The demo video shows an early version of Media Streams created in 1992.

Active Capture software and interaction design automate the capture of stills and video for, and of, users. By integrating capture, processing, and interaction, Active Capture automates the traditional processes of direction and cinematography. Using real-time media analysis in an interactive control loop, Active Capture software structures the user’s interaction with a capture device to record reusable, annotated media assets.